How to Make Pork & Cabbage Jade Dumplings 翡翠饺

Name: How to Make Pork & Cabbage Jade Dumplings 翡翠饺
Prep time: 1 h 30 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 1 h 40 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 160 g All purpose flour; ¼ tsp Salt; 90 ml Cold water; 160 g All purpose flour; 50 g Spinach; ¼ tsp Salt; 100 ml Cold water; 300 g Minced pork; 1 egg; 400 g Napa cabbage; 2 tbsp Chopped ginger; 2 Chopped green onions; 2 tbsp Light soy sauce; 1 ½ tbsp Toasted sesame oil; 1 tbsp Oyster sauce; ½ tbsp Chinese 13 spice blend; ¼ tsp Ground white pepper; ½ tsp salt; ½ tsp sugar

AuthorYun Zhang JohnCategoryMeat, VegetablesRating

Yields4 Servings

Prep Time1 hr 30 minsCook Time10 minsTotal Time1 hr 40 mins

Making dumplings from scratch is not something I grew up doing. Even in recent years, I’ve always relied on store bought wrappers. It wasn’t until I moved to a place where fresh dumpling wrappers were hard to come by that I dove into making it ALL from scratch….and truthfully, I’ve not looked back! Because having a handmade dough wrapper encasing your favourite meats and vegetables just can’t be beat!

Dumplings with a side of culture

Once you have the technique of hand making dumpling wrappers down, you can start experimenting. Just like I’ve done here with these “cabbage” dumplings or 翡翠饺, as they are called in Chinese. The name is actually quite poetic as it means jade. In Chinese culture, jade is a highly treasured ornamental stone which are often carved into the shape of napa cabbages due to the natural variations of whites and greens found in the stone. Jadeite Cabbage sculptures are not only pretty to look at, but they also symbolise prosperity and wealth. And that’s how this gem of a dumpling got its name.

But I don’t make these just to look at, they are truly yummy to eat! The pork and napa cabbage filling is a classic combination and totally appropriate here. Making dumplings from scratch takes a bit of time, but why not build a family tradition around making and fold and eating these beautiful bites? My step-by-step guide will give you all the techniques and secrets that you’ll need to enjoy these juicy, fragrant and satisfying parcels of deliciousness at home!

You Will Need

White Dough

160 g All purpose flour

¼ tsp Salt

90 ml Cold water

Green dough:

160 g All purpose flour

50 g Spinach

¼ tsp Salt

100 ml Cold water

Filling:

300 g Minced pork

1 egg

400 g Napa cabbage

2 tbsp Chopped ginger

2 Chopped green onions

2 tbsp Light soy sauce

1 ½ tbsp Toasted sesame oil

1 tbsp Oyster sauce

½ tbsp Chinese 13 spice blend

¼ tsp Ground white pepper

½ tsp salt

½ tsp sugar

Instructions

Prep doughs:

Puree spinach and water together and reserve 100ml of the liquid.

Mix flour with salt and slowly add in the spinach liquid. Mix with your hands and start kneading the dough for 5min. Then wrap in plastic and leave to rest for 10min

Repeat the same process with just water to make the white dough.

After it's been rested, knead the doughs smooth and leave it to rest for a few minutes again so they'll be easier to roll out.

Then roll both dough balls into long strips of the same length.

Flatten the green strip and roll it out with a rolling pin to increase the width but not so much the length. Wet the surface with a bit of water.

.Then encase the white dough strip into the now flat ten green strip and pinch tightly to close

Roll the now combined doughs into one and divide into roughly 40 small pieces. Dust with a bit of flour to keep them separated.

Roll out each individual piece into round dumpling wrappers.

****Always keep pieces of dough under plastic when not working on them
to prevent from drying. They would be harder to shape if too dry.

Prep Filling:

Cut napa cabbage into small pieces and add salt to draw out excess water. After it's sat, squeeze out as much water as you can.

In a mixing bowl add all filling ingredients and mix vigorously in one direction until you have a cohesive mixture.

Folding:

Put roughly 1-1 1/2 tsp of the filling into the centre of each wrapper and fold over in your preferred method. Pinch tightly to close.

Cooking:

Bring a large pot of water to boil.

Drop in the dumplings and stir to make sure they don't stick.

Bring it to a rolling boil and add 1/2 cup of cold water, do this 3x and when it comes to a boil again, the dumplings are cooked. Depending on the size of each dumpling, takes roughly 10min.

Ingredients

White Dough

160 g All purpose flour

¼ tsp Salt

90 ml Cold water

Green dough:

160 g All purpose flour

50 g Spinach

¼ tsp Salt

100 ml Cold water

Filling:

300 g Minced pork

1 egg

400 g Napa cabbage

2 tbsp Chopped ginger

2 Chopped green onions

2 tbsp Light soy sauce

1 ½ tbsp Toasted sesame oil

1 tbsp Oyster sauce

½ tbsp Chinese 13 spice blend

¼ tsp Ground white pepper

½ tsp salt

½ tsp sugar

Directions